We may have to go back to the end of the Mesozoic Era to find another event with the truly global impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has inflicted. The meteor that ended the Age of Dinosaurs pre-dated humans, so we can safely say that Man has never come across such a universal scale of biological threat and economic impact.
Bringing death and economic turmoil, Covid-19 also focused global attention on science, as hundreds of thousands of biotechnology companies around the world searched for effective vaccines and therapeutics. In so doing, it showcased biotech’s most inventive innovation to-date while also highlighting the impact that results from governmental policies and actions.
The successes South Korea and Taiwan achieved in managing the pandemic are, in part, driven by policies to support biotech, implemented nearly two decades ago. In that vein, it will be interesting to see what exciting results emerge from Thailand’s four-year-old national vision: Thailand 4.0.
Ascendant Biotech Corporation Ltd. (ABC Ltd) is positioned to benefit from Thailand’s focus. TCELS, Thailand Center of Excellence for Life Sciences, is a national organisation that highlights the best and the most forward-thinking of Thailand’s sciences industry in pursuit of Thailand 4.0. Without support from this arm of the Thai Ministry of Science and Technology, a biotechnology company has a longer path to success in Thailand.
TCELS has recognised ABC since 2020 - a noteworthy achievement for a startup. As an exclusive medical treatment access platform, ABC identifies emerging technologies for incurable chronic and terminal diseases and accelerates their regulated introduction to the market. Representative immunotherapies, vaccines, gene therapies, and regenerative medicines reside on ABC’s platform. In 2021, ABC is working with acclaimed institutions and companies to address unmet needs in cancer, herpes, osteoarthritis, and neurodegenerative diseases. ABC looks forward to introducing these novel therapeutics and diagnostics to the world via Thailand beginning in 2022.
These first-in-man technologies that ABC will introduce are only possible due to the relationships and networks ABC’s co-founders have nurtured since 2010. This relationship network actively monitored the dramatic expansion of knowledge in vaccines, cell and gene therapy and regenerative medicine, and positioned ABC in the nexus of significant developments in these sectors. Importantly, to finance the commercialization of such high calibre innovations, ABC is executing a technology-enabled funding strategy that embodies the core of ABC’s mission: make life-changing therapeutics for incurable diseases accessible by the public. Thus, not only is ABC bringing forth noteworthy therapeutics, but its approach to pricing these therapies is also important to recognise. ABC believes that the new fundraising strategy will demonstrate to other biotech companies how to shift the financial burden to the process and away from the patients.
Rising to the challenges, ABC aims to set the global standard in the new era of medicine, in medical technologies and in funding R&D. ABC is committed to elevating the level of innovation in the increasingly dynamic environment for global biotech and looks forward to providing care for many future generations to come.